14 PAF aircraft destroyed, damaged in a year

ISLAMABAD - Fourteen aircraft of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) have been destroyed or damaged in thirteen cases of aircraft crashes, fire eruption or emergency landings in over a year but the inquiry report of none of these incidents has come to light till date.According to the data available, more than 10 PAF officers including an air commodore, six squadron leaders, and two flight lieutenants have been killed in the aircraft crashes since October last year.The destroyed or damaged aircraft included Mushak, Mirage, F-7, F-7 PG, JF-17 Thunder and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Falco-I Selex, the PAF surveillance drone that had crashed near Mianwali in May this year. The GS Falco-I Selex is the only type of surveillance drone the PAF present has. After every aircraft crash, the PAF would issue a one-liner, “A board of inquiry has been ordered to determine the cause of accident.” However, the details of these inquiries are neither shared publicly nor any relevant details are made available to media.PAF sources say, the results of these kind of probes are never made public or shared with media. “These are internal probes of highly sensitive nature. Only the PAF top brass remains privy to relevant details,” this correspondent was told.PAF Spokesman Group Captain Tariq Mehmood was called at his official and personal cell and official landline numbers to acquire the armed force’s version on the subject but he did not respond. A message was also dropped with the spokesman’s personal assistant Muhammad Akram but the PAF’s version was not received till the filing of this report. The details of the incidents involving PAF aircraft are as under:Last week (November 22), a PAF aircraft, reportedly a Mushak, crashed near Jhang. A squadron leader was killed. On August 15, 2012, a Mirage aircraft crashed near Thal, the pilot remained safe.On August 6, a PAF aircraft, once again a Mirage, crashed near Charsadda, two pilots had remained safe. June 12, another Mirage crashed near Thal. The pilot was safe.May 29, a PAF F-7 aircraft caught fire during repair at Samungli, Quetta. The aircraft was largely damaged. No loss of life was reported.This year’s May 17 proved to be deadliest day for the PAF in recent times. Two of its Mushak aircraft collided mid-air near Risalpur Academy killing four PAF officers, three squadron leaders and a flight lieutenant.February 8, F-7 PG aircraft crashed in Pisin, Balochistan, a flight lieutenant was killed. January 25, a PAF aircraft, reportedly, a Mushak, crashed near Mianwali. The two pilots were safe. January 17, an aircraft of PAF (type not known) crashed in Turkey near Azmeer base. One squadron leader was killed while unspecified number of trainees had gone missing. They were also reportedly dead.November 14 (last year), a JF-17 Thunder crashed in Attock. A squadron leader lost his life.October 19, 2011, a PAF Mirage crashed near Lasbela, Balochistan. An air commodore was killed. Talking to TheNation, Air Commodore (r) Ali Raza, said that the main cause of the PAF aircraft crashes were technical lapses. “I think the repeated aircraft crash incidents are a result of the poor technical and engineering oversight. It’s the job of engineering branch to ensure that aircraft is well maintained and fully fit for flying operations. The pre-flight and post-flight inspections are carried out to examine if all the parts of an aircraft are functioning properly,” he said.The reason for the technical lapses, the retired air commodore believed, could be extensive occupation at the Western border causing excessive training exercises. “The PAF is extensively engaged in the war on terror on the Western border. This kind of operational engagement requires hectic operational preparedness that involves excessive professional training and other standby arrangements. This could be a constraint for effective aircraft maintenance and repair,” he said. Regarding results of the probes launched into PAF aircraft incidents, Air Commodore (r) Ali Raza said that the probes’ findings are generally shared with the top officials at engineering, operations and administration branches of PAF whereas “these details always remain a mystery for everyone else.”